A Scottish Saltire (C) flies between a Union flag (R) and a European Union (EU) flag, in front of the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, on March 13, 2017. Scotland’s announcement on Monday that it will begin preparations for a new independence bid raised the spectre of one of Brexit’s most feared consequences — the end of the United Kingdom. / AFP PHOTO
Head of Germany’s engineering trade body on Monday called for a fresh-attempt at a free-trade-agreement between the U. S. and the EU in the face of steel and aluminum tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Nobody can have any interest in an escalation of trade disputes in which all sides – the U.S, China and Europe – stand to lose at the end,” VDMA President Carl Martin Welcker said at the Hannover Messe trade fair.
Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports last month to counter what he has described as unfair international competition.
The EU is seeking compensation from the U. S. for the tariffs through the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“The U.S. President has made a lot of waves with his erratic trade policy and the announcement of a number of tariffs.
”We are very concerned about that,” VDMA’s Welcker said, adding that the U. St. appeared to be turning its back on the WTO.
The U. S. is the most important export market for German engineers, accounting for around 18 billion euros (22 billion dollars ), or 11 per cent of total exports.
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